


Real Estate

by patchfire, raving_liberal



Series: Story of Three Boys [124]
Category: Glee
Genre: Home Buying, Home Improvement, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-21
Updated: 2013-05-21
Packaged: 2017-12-12 13:02:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/811878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/patchfire/pseuds/patchfire, https://archiveofourown.org/users/raving_liberal/pseuds/raving_liberal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Six people in a three-bedroom apartment gets a little cramped, fast.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Real Estate

Marguerite looks over the day’s appointments, as well as her messages, and sits down at her desk. Two new clients, which means she needs to look over their initial paperwork and draw up a list of possible properties. The real estate market in New York is never truly slow, but January is the closest thing they get to a break, and Marguerite realizes she’ll probably be able to wrap up her day at the office by lunch and take a few hours before meeting clients in the late afternoon and early evening. 

The first set of new clients isn’t anything out of the ordinary. A husband and wife, relocating for her job, and they want a two or three bedroom in a co-op. Marguerite spends a little over an hour compiling a neighborhood profile for the Upper West Side, as well as for Morningside Heights, then selecting possible homes in their price range. It’s relatively simple, and she sends it to the provided contacts with a sense of satisfaction. 

Then Marguerite looks at the document for the other new clients, and her eyebrows go up. She’s used to dealing with people who are very well-off, certainly more well-off than she herself is, but she can’t recall ever seeing a client who genuinely claims not to have an upward limit on the price. 

They—three men and their apparently combined three children—are looking for something in the Upper West Side, with relatively specific guidelines. Between Amsterdam and the Park, nothing below 66th street, nothing above the museum, a large bathtub in at least one bathroom, a bottom-level or basement room that could be fitted with soundproofing if necessary, and lastly “a kitchen our sister the chef won’t throw up her hands in disgust at.” Marguerite smiles a little and starts looking through the listings. It’s not going to be easy to find something large enough that meets their criteria, and she hopes they’re willing to wait a bit for something to go on the market, if necessary. Still, there are four possible properties that she can show them for now, and she sends the information along with a selection of available times to name listed as the best to contact. 

Her phone rings just as she’s getting to leave the office. “Marguerite Preusser, Inman and Stanfield.”

“Noah Hummel. You sent me some information earlier?”

“Mr. Hummel, yes. How can I help you?”

“I thought it’d be easier to talk about our time limitations. I suppose I should have listed all of that, but I didn’t think about it. Finn works a more traditional schedule, and he’s got some flexibility, but Kurt and I are in theatre, so the late afternoon and early evening times, we’re eating dinner and then heading to work, most of the time.”

“Oh, I see. Yes, I suppose that makes a difference. What would be better times for the three of you, then?”

“Lunchtime, Finn’s usually got an hour a day, or most of the afternoon on Tuesdays,” he responds. “Some afternoons around three, but it varies. Since you only had four places on the list right now, we could look at one during lunchtime on Monday, and the rest on Tuesday, early afternoon? The kids’ll be with their nanny or at school then. Eliza’ll want to take a look if we find anything that’s a real possibility, but that wouldn’t be a problem, right? Taking a second look?”

“Right,” Marguerite responds, pulling up her calendar. “Lunchtime on Monday is fine. I’ll set up the appointments to view the properties. Did any of them look more appealing to you than others?”

“The one on 74th, we walk past it all the time. You can leave it for Tuesday, I think.”

“Leave it for Tuesday, okay.” Marguerite makes another note. “I’ll let you know where we should meet on Monday.”

“Sounds great! Thanks for your help.”

“Thank you.” Marguerite ends the call and stares at her phone for a few moments. It may not be fair, precisely, but the Hummel-Hudson group are probably going to become her most important clients. The man on the phone—Noah—just told her to make the least-expensive property the lowest priority.

“Stanley?” she asks her assistant. 

“Yes, Ms. Preusser?”

“Did the financial confirmations come back for the Hummels and Hudsons?”

“Not exactly, ma’am,” he admits. “They are not prequalified for a loan because they plan to purchase.”

“Purchase.” Marguerite stares at Stanley. “Excuse me?”

“Purchase outright,” Stanley clarifies. “They most likely won’t be utilizing a mortgage.”

“Oh.” Marguerite closes her gaping mouth. “I think they’re now our most important clients, Stanley.” 

“I assumed so, ma’am.” Stanley smiles. “I’ll start making some inquiries about properties about to go on the market?”

Marguerite nods. “Thank you, Stanley. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

“Have a good day,” Stanley responds. “I’ll send you a message if I find out anything of importance.” 

 

The three men that Marguerite meets on Monday, at Columbus and 76th, all look vaguely familiar to her, though she can’t place any of them. The Upper West Side isn’t really that big of a place, though, so she’s likely seen them at Zabar’s or walking down the sidewalk. Everyone introduces themselves, and the three follow her to the property she was able to make an appointment at for that time. 

It is something of an interesting experience, an opinion that is only solidified in Marguerite’s mind when she meets them again the following day to look at the remaining properties. They seem to each have a mental ideal. The tallest one, Finn, looks critically at the bathtubs at each place. Noah walks off at least two rooms and frowns, like he’s trying to picture something in them. And Kurt is concerned at all four locations with the amount of sunlight and windows, in addition to suggesting rooms for ‘Eliza’ and ‘The Peas’.

After the fourth home, Marguerite suggests they take a day or two to think it over and let her know what they did and didn’t like best about each, assuming they don’t decide to make an offer on any of them. They all shake hands and the three of them walk off together, arms around each other. Marguerite can’t quite figure them out, really, and nothing Stanley’s found gives her any insight. They seem to want two bedrooms for the adults, but their mannerisms with each other— well, she’s not entirely sure who would be sharing a bedroom, despite the last names that should give her an idea. 

 

Thursday afternoon arrives before Noah calls her again. “I guess we’re a little hard to please,” he says apologetically. 

“No, I thought from the beginning it might take a bit of time and patience to find you just the right place,” Marguerite admits. “But did it help the three of you refine what you might be looking for?”

“Yeah, it did,” Noah says. “We weren’t wild about the location or the upper floors of the one that fronted Amsterdam, but we really liked the entrance being on the second floor, with the first floor mostly below street level.”

“That’s good to know,” Marguerite says, making a note. 

“And the shared bathroom at that other place, I can’t remember what you called it, where the two bedrooms both could access it, but there wasn’t hallways access? That’d be pretty neat for the kids. It’s not a deal-breaker, though.” He pauses. “Honestly, I think it’s mainly that none of them were quite big enough. Kurt and I really need to be able to have a studio area, and we’d still like to have a guest room if possible, plus rooms for the kids and everything. Is there anything like that that’s going to be available? I mean, they’re still bigger than where we’re at now, but.” He laughs at the end of the sentence. 

“I think so, yes. I know of a few properties that have sold in the last year that would meet some of those requirements, and there are others in the area. I’ll make a note of everything you have said and get back to you when I find a new listing or possible listing.”

They exchange the required pleasantries, and Marguerite adds a note to her calendar for the next morning to set up lunch with a colleague early the next week. Stanley had heard a rumor about a property that might be put on the market in another several months, after renovation; if that’s true, there might be a potential win-win for her clients and her colleague’s. 

 

“Marguerite!” John greets her when she arrives at their table the next Monday afternoon. “It’s been too long since we saw each other.”

“We did manage to wave at that party in December.”

John laughs. “Yes, very briefly and from across the room. Business going well?”

“It is,” Marguerite allows. “For you as well?”

“No real January slowdown this year,” John says, nodding. “It’s amazing how many listings and showings I’m doing. And the clients looking to buy, too.”

“Yes, exactly.” Marguerite nods. “I have some interesting clients, and the word is that you might have a client whose property meets their needs,” she continues, once the server has taken their order. 

“Oh?”

“The Hummels and Mr. Hudson, or ‘please, call us Kurt, Noah, and Finn’.” Marguerite shakes her head. “I’ve never had a client that truly didn’t have an upward price limit, John, but they insist that they don’t. When Stanley did the standard financial inquiry, it merely verified that yes, they would be able to pay. Outright.”

“Who are they?”

“I don’t know! That’s the crazy thing. They all look somewhat familiar, but they already live on the Upper West Side, so I could have seen them around the neighborhood.”

“What did you say their names were?” John asks with a frown. 

“Noah Hummel and Kurt Hummel. They apparently work in theatre. And Finn Hudson. He does something with clients.”

“Finn Hudson? Bluebird?”

Marguerite looks blankly at John. “Bluebird? What on earth, John?”

“Finn ‘Bluebird’ Hudson,” John repeats. 

“The football player.” Marguerite shakes her head. “Right. The one that was— oh, I’m an idiot. On the Tonys. When the Hummels won for _Milk_ , two years ago. Well, that does explain the lack of an upward price limit, I suppose.”

John laughs. “It does. So what’s the issue?”

“They’re looking for someplace very large, with a specific set of requirements. Stanley heard you might have a client who’s looking to renovate and then unload a very nice piece of real estate facing the Park.” 

“Stanley did hear correctly, but the renovations won’t start for another month, I think, and then it’ll be a few months after that before it’s on the market.” 

“Well, would your client be willing to let them take a look? If they liked it, they’d probably prefer to take over the renovations themselves, and your client wouldn’t have to oversee those, nor wait to unload the property.” 

John stares at her for a long moment, stopping himself only when the food arrives. “Marguerite,” he finally says, “that’s genius.” 

“That’s why they pay me the big bucks,” Marguerite says with a smile. 

“One day someone’s going to poach you from Inman and Stanfield.” 

“Or I could strike out on my own.”

“Need a business partner? We could be Preusser and Namgung,” John suggests. 

“Let’s see how this deal goes, shall we?” 

 

It takes a few days to make all of the arrangements, but at one pm the next Tuesday, Marguerite meets the three of them, as well as John, at the corner of W 70th and Central Park West. “The owner had intended to do some renovations prior to selling the home,” Marguerite explains, “including adding a fifth floor. The permits are already secured for that work, in fact. John is representing the owner, and he and I thought it might be possible the three of you would rather purchase and then supervise your own renovations.” 

“An interesting idea,” Kurt says after exchanging glances with the other two. “Let’s see the property, then.”

“It’s actually on Central Park West,” Marguerite explains, walking them past the synagogue on the corner. “Just tucked here between this and the apartment building.” She stops in front of the house and gives them a chance to look at it and the location. 

“Well, we’re close to the Park, at least,” Noah says, laughing a little. “Less than a block, even.” 

“The kids would appreciate that.” Kurt turns slowly in place. “Well.” 

“Kinda hard to process,” Noah says with a little nod towards Kurt. “Finn?”

“So we could custom-build the bathroom on the fifth floor, then?” Finn asks.

“He’s a little preoccupied with the bathtub issue,” Noah says to Marguerite, grinning at Finn. 

“I don’t fit in regular tubs, ok? Give a tall guy a break!” Finn protests.

“I think you’ll find that the fourth floor bathroom also could benefit from renovation,” John offers. “Let me just get the door unlocked so you can take a good look around.” 

Marguerite follows all of them in, and decides to stand as near to the middle of the floor as she can. The dining room, living room, and foyer don’t necessarily appear that in need of renovation, just dated, but she hears Noah laughing in the kitchen. 

“So I think we should get Hannah and Ana in here to tell us what to do to the kitchen, yeah?”

“I like the island,” Finn says. “Perfect height.”

“And a stepstool for the kids,” Kurt says. “I mean, yes, the decor is rather a few decades old, but I like the layout.”

“Up or down next?” John asks them. “Marguerite mentioned something about soundproofing a room?”

“Yeah, let’s go on down and check that out,” Noah says, and Marguerite watches the three of them again on the ground floor. There’s a larger bedroom with a bathroom attached, and a smaller room next to it, as well as some storage space. They look around before Noah speaks again. “I wonder if the bathroom could be off the smaller room, make that the guest bedroom.”

“I don’t think you could get a piano down those stairs, though,” Finn says. 

“Well, not a big one,” Noah argues. “Have to leave room for the rest of the strays.”

“Oh, of course,” Kurt says, and Marguerite is pretty sure that he’s trying not to laugh. 

John leads them back upstairs, then up another floor. “Just bedrooms here,” he says to them. 

“Eliza’d probably like the view from this one,” Kurt says after a minute. 

“We’ll probably need to keep the Peas together, though,” Finn says. “Otherwise we’d have to soundproof their rooms, too.”

“Their cries of anguish would be very loud,” Kurt says, nodding. “There’s no reason that they can’t share a room for a few years, at least.”

Marguerite notices that none of the three of them discuss that there are, in fact, more than two bedrooms on that floor, but John doesn’t comment on that, either, leading them to the fourth floor. 

“Now this currently is the master suite, taking up the entire floor,” John says. “Bedroom, bathroom, and an office area.”

“This is probably all I’d need, office-wise,” Finn says as he walks around the small office. He wanders out of the office and back into the bathroom. “Tub could be bigger,” he calls out. 

“Darling, until you custom-order one, it won’t be big enough,” Kurt responds, which makes Marguerite and John laugh a bit. 

“And then of course there’s the permits to add on an additional level,” John says. “Would you be putting in an additional master suite?”

“Less office space than this level,” Kurt says. 

“This is when we look into those custom beds!” Noah yells towards Finn in the bathroom, then laughs. 

“It’s not my fault normal-sized things don’t fit me!” Finn yells back. 

“Strange how they usually aren’t thinking of three full-size adults,” Kurt says quietly to Noah, but Marguerite barely hears it. She shakes her head a little and looks over at John, who doesn’t seem to have heard anything. 

A few more minutes pass before all of them go back down to the first floor. “Thoughts?” Marguerite asks. 

“It does need renovation,” Kurt says, nodding slowly, “but I do think we’d rather supervise that kind of thing ourselves.” 

“What kind of time frame are we looking at?” Noah asks. “Assuming we purchase and start on the additional floor and other renovations right away?”

“With the right crews and an expedited closing, perhaps the end of May?” John suggests. 

“Four more months and change where we are now,” Noah says wryly. “We’d better be sure we’re used to the Duplos underfoot everywhere.”

“We’ll get some more bins,” Finn suggests. “We can put a little more into storage. We can make it work.”

“So you are interested?” Marguerite asks, then watches the three exchange a few glances before nodding. “Okay. Let’s head to my office, then. John, I’ll talk with you later.”

“Great. Nice to meet all of you.” John shakes their hands and heads out with a wave, and Marguerite takes Noah, Finn, and Kurt back to her office. 

 

It is the highest-priced purchase that Marguerite has personally overseen, and in the end, one of the quickest. There’s no one living there, after all, and the Hudson-Hummel group is eager to start on renovations. Ultimately, all the papers are signed just two weeks after their initial showing, and after everyone else has left, Marguerite makes sure to thank the real estate lawyer a final time. 

It’s almost anticlimatic the next day when a request for a three bedroom in Morningside Heights comes in, Marguerite decides. Back to the regular process of upward price limits, though she does make a point of going down Central Park West at least once every week or two, to specifically see how their renovations are proceeding. 

Despite John’s enthusiastic predictions, it’s near the beginning of July that Marguerite notices an end to the construction and enough changes that she thinks they’ve likely been able to move in. She arranges to have a plant delivered, after realizing she can’t really tote it herself, and finally moves the file to completely inactive. Marguerite shakes her head. They probably don’t have many friends with similar financials who are looking for a place to live. Probably not, but she’ll still make sure they always get a holiday card.


End file.
